Beware of the Irish Lancaster tells England

Eddie Jones’ England have the squad depth, experience and sheer big-game winning nous to retain their Six Nations title, according to former Red Rose supremo Stuart Lancaster.
However, Lancaster believes Ireland, buoyed by their autumn victory over New Zealand and the success of Leinster and Munster in Europe, can offer the greatest threat to England – if they can overcome resurgent Scotland in their opening match at Murrayfield.
Jones has steered England to 13 successive wins since Lancaster fell on his sword following the 2015 World Cup disaster, but the Cumbrian is far from bitter and is backing his Aussie successor to build on last year’s triumph despite injuries to a number of key players.
Lancaster, now coaching in Ireland, told The Rugby Paper: “Everyone wants to beat England and this Six Nations will be hugely competitive, but England still have a very strong squad – a hugely experienced squad now – and Eddie’s got them playing with lots of confidence.
“It’ll be particularly interesting to see how this Six Nations unfolds for them with Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France all improving.
“But even with the injuries they’ve sustained there are still lots of quality players and, hopefully, that experience will shine through. What’s impressive about England is the collective spirit and their desire to ‘nut’ out the big moments in games. We came so close in four of the Six Nations I was involved in and were denied titles by small margins, so to do that Grand Slam last year was impressive.
“It’ll be a huge challenge to do it again because other sides have successfully come through a transition cycle of blooding new players after the World Cup, but England are certainly more than equipped to go well under Eddie and potentially retain their title.”
Ireland are favourites in the eyes of many to upset England, but Leinster backs coach Lancaster cautioned: “If I was in the Ireland camp, I wouldn’t be thinking beyond Scotland away first-up because you can see how much they’ve improved over the last two years.
“That’s not just down to the efforts of Glasgow and Edinburgh but the work of head coach Vern Cotter. He deserves great credit for developing Scotland the way he has and Ireland are in for a very tough fixture against a side that is going to be very competitive.”
Whilst speculation over British & Irish Lions selection is rife, Lancaster identifies a number of key battlegrounds, notably at fly-half, where Jonny Sexton is back in form and challenging England’s Owen Farrell and George Ford, and a fiercely contested back row.
With his Leinster hat on, Lancaster said: “Jonny played very well against Montpellier last week, which is a great testament to him because he’d been injured over an extended period since the autumn internationals so to come back like that was excellent.
“Owen Farrell and George Ford are well in the mix but Jonny’s got a lot of talent and experience and if he’s playing well for Ireland, he’s got to be a strong contender for that Lions jersey, although fly-half is certainly going to be one of the most competitive areas.
“Back row is another and there are great options in all the countries now. At Leinster, Jamie Heaslip and Josh van der Flier are playing very well, while Jack Conan has worked very hard on his consistency and is really starting to put his hand up now.
“Jack had a run of injuries before I arrived, but since I’ve been here he’s been training week-in, week-out and is getting really match-sharp. He’s making better decisions in training and that’s been translating into excellent performances.”
Beyond the Six Nations, Lancaster is hugely motivated by helping Leinster reclaim the Champions Cup title they last won in 2012. With a quarter-final place already assured, he said: “Leinster have won the European Cup three times – a phenomenal achievement – so to equal Toulouse‘s record of four wins is going to be a huge challenge.
“The quarter-finals are not long after the Six Nations so we’ll have to see what shape our players are in, but we’ve had a really good start to our campaign and have built up good momentum which will hopefully put us in a strong position.
“It’s been good to work with a talented group of players who are hungry to learn and have the ability to get even better, which is something you’re seeing throughout the Pro12. Our success in Europe is not just a reflection of Irish rugby, where there’s a feelgood factor, but on the Pro12 in general which is becoming a very strong league.”
Lancaster continues to be linked with jobs in England, with Leicester being the latest, but he added: “The media mention my name but I’ve not spoken to anyone about other roles and I’ve got enough going on preparing Leinster for big games.
“We’ll see how it plays out at the end of the season but a big priority for me is to get the balance right for my family back in Leeds. My kids are 15 and 16 and I’ve spent a lot of time away, so any decision I make will have to suit them.”
NEALE HARVEY